For a nation at peace, the United States packs a hefty military punch. Apart from a ten-division Army, 286-ship Navy and a 5,000-plane Air Force, they also can deploy 190,000 in the US Marine Corps—a force larger than all Britain’s … Continue reading →

“After a fight with cancer, film director Bernardo Bertolucci died on Monday 26th in Rome, surrounded by family.” Most famous for his Oscar-laden sweeping historic “The Last Emperor“, acclaim had come earlier in his career with the 1970 “The Conformist” … Continue reading →

This week we had another series of news items reminding us of te centenary of yet another WW1 battle—this time the Amiens offensive when the Allies finally had success in breaching German lines on the Western Front and rolling them … Continue reading →

I have always been proud to be Scots and, humanly flawed though they may sometimes be, love them as my brothers and sisters. But seldom have I felt more pride in or love for them than when I caught this … Continue reading →

Down the years, I have spent many a pleasant week visiting friends in Norfolk. At over two hours from London by fastest train, it is mercifully still relatively unspoiled by the explosion of building, crowds and traffic that is London … Continue reading →

Yes, this topic has reached tedium, and far as normal people (i.e. non-anoraks) are concerned. But the whole kerfuffle just reached its watershed, with a slippery slide to conclusion laid out before us like the proverbial patient etherised upon a … Continue reading →

It’s amazing what a little slow can do. Like paralyse civilisation. Here in Central Scotland we are on our second day of Red weather alerts after two prelude days of biting East winds and a whole prior week of dire … Continue reading →

Edinburgh takes pride in its buses. From its start as Edinburgh Corporation Transport, Lothian Buses has grown to transport over 100 million passengers each year, won accolades as the best bus company in Britain and seen off competition from FirstBus … Continue reading →

It’s that time of year when function suites and community halls from Annan to Zetland are packed out with revellers tucking into their haggis and looking forward to a dram or three to accompany witty speakers. And why not? Late … Continue reading →